Denver Broncos offensive lineman Alex Forsyth has gone from looking like the future at center for the team to a guy who may be entering his final training camp with the team this summer.
A seventh-round pick in 2022, Forsyth was seen as a good value pick with a nice potential upside when the team first selected him. It looked like an even better pick when the Broncos added Bo Nix in the first round last year, as Forsyth was the center for Nix in college at Oregon.
Forsyth seemed to have a leg up on the team’s competition at center heading into training camp for that reason, but he was defeated rather easily by Luke Wattenberg, who is now entrenched as the team’s starting center.
Forsyth was relegated to a backup role, but was put in to help block for field goal and PAT attempts on special teams. That proved to be a big mistake, as Forsyth was the player the Kansas City Chiefs identified as a weakness, running him over on this play to seal their victory and a heart-wrenching defeat for the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium last season.
As you can see in this video, it was something that was evident prior to the Chiefs taking advantage of it.
Forsyth was sick over allowing the Chiefs to get through and block the field goal, as it wasted an incredible effort by the Broncos to pull the upset. But it’s clearly something Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub saw on film and decided to exploit.
Broncos starting left tackle Garett Bolles did a great job of explaining how the loss couldn’t be blamed on one play or one player, but there is no doubt that Forsyth took it hard and now that he will be facing more competition in training camp this summer, he will have to overcome that and prove that he is still a player that belongs in the team’s future plans.
Forsyth is not going to be in line to overtake Wattenberg this year, so he will be fighting for a spot as a reserve offensive lineman. But Nick Gargiulo and undrafted free agent Clay Webb can each play center as well and are better guards than Forsyth. The team also has a veteran option in Calvin Throckmorton, so Forsyth has his work cut out for him.
The difference may come down to which player holds up best as a protector out of the field goal formation. Some angry Broncos fans called for Forsyth to be cut last year following that blocked field goal. Forsyth will have to show that he will be much better in that role this summer because if he isn’t, there’s not really a spot for him on the roster.
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